Sunday, May 10, 2009

Sneakaboard

Looking for creative and legal ways to avoid high rent in Seattle, I came upon the idea of living aboard a sailboat. I toyed with the idea for a while, thinking I would need $3000 for a 25 foot or larger boat in bad condition. In a fit of rash decision making, I bought a boat on craigslist for $1350. It was small, a 22' Balboa sloop, designed for trailer sailing. I knew nothing about it, and did not get a survey. After that, I asked the dock manager about living aboard. He said no. Then I messaged many marinas about it, they too, replied with an emphatic no.



So I had a boat, but no place to keep it. I found a slip for $200 a month that did not allow liveaboards, and, in a fit of desperation, decided to just sneak aboard. From November until March, I avoided being noticed, blacked out the ports on my boat, and basically acted very sneaky in my marina that included less than ten slips. I got away with it surprisingly well, until about mid-February, when the liveaboard in the slip next to me asked if I had been living on my boat...




Of course I denied this...



and started searching for a new slip!

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